Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games Series #3)

Do you know the feeling when you finish a book and you can’t quite explain why you didn’t love it? That’s exactly how I feel about Mockinjay.

If you have read my reviews of The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, you know I like the last book of The Hunger Games series the least. My big problem is, I cannot pin point to what it is that bothers me so much. It’s just this overwhelming feeling I have. And I have that everytime I read Mockingjay.

The book isn’t bad per se and I actually enjoy reading it. I just don’t enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the first two books of the trilogy and as much as I wanted to enjoy it. Let’s dive into the plot and maybe you can understand my feelings a little bit better.

Katniss has been rescued by the rebells of District Thirteen and has to live with the fact that Peeta is captured by President Snow. She still suffers from major PTSD, because of her second Hunger Games, her PTSD is actually worse than in Catching Fire. The leader of District Thirteen, President Coin, as well as the rest of the rebel’s leadership want Katniss to be their Mockingjay, the symbol of their rebellion. Katniss struggles with being this symbol even after agreeing to it.

Due to her PTSD and her general trust issues, Katniss has problems trusting anyone in Thirteen. The only exception of this would be her fellow victor Finnick Odair. Some might say she trusts her friend Gale as well, I actually disagree with that. There are moments, when in comes to Peeta for example, when Katniss isn’t sure if she should trust Gale. Given the ending, which I won’t spoil, I feel like that’s actually a good thing.

One thing that bothers me a lot, yet isn’t soley responsible for my feelings towards Mockingjay, is the fact that so many people die. There are a lot of characters dying in all the books due to the nature of the Hunger Games. In Mockingjay it is mostly people you know and in some cases like very much. As Katniss is the first person narrator of the book again, these deaths affect her more, so they affect the reader more.

Apart from that, there is really no specific moment, that I just didn’t like. Books like this are the reason why I don’t have a rating system here on Eyes of Owls. It would be so hard for me to actually put a number on Mockingjay.

How about you? Did you like the book? And what do you think about the ending? I’d love the hear your thoughts about Mockingjay and the ending of the entire series.

I remember reading this trilogy for the first time when I was around 13-14 and I actually was so hooked on these books that read them all in a week. I have to agree that Mockingjay was my least favorite and can’t explain why. Probably should reread this series and maybe this time I’ll have more specified opinion on the last one. Great post!